We are becoming increasingly concerned with the number of unauthorised absences on Fridays, which has become our lowest attending day. Some pupils have missed 3 Fridays in a 6-week period, resulting in a significant impact on their learning.

Completing a full week of school is crucial for academic progress. Missing 4 Fridays in an 8-week term means a loss of over 20 hours of valuable learning time. This can quickly lead to gaps in your child’s education, making it harder for them to keep up.

Please be aware that pupils with repeated unauthorised absences on Fridays will be monitored closely to ensure their attendance improves.

We appreciate your understanding and support in this matter.

14/10/2024

We are committed to ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed at school, but we understand that sometimes barriers can affect regular attendance. To support our pupils and families, we offer a variety of services aimed at addressing and overcoming these challenges.

Attendance Officers and AHOH Meetings

Our Attendance Officers and Assistant Heads of House (AHOH) are available to meet with you to discuss any concerns regarding your child’s attendance. We aim to work together to find positive solutions and provide the support your child needs to return to school.

Home Visits

For families where no reason for absence has been provided, our home visits offer a supportive way to reach out and ensure everything is okay. These visits are designed to be collaborative, ensuring we understand any barriers to attendance and can help resolve them.

Pupil Mentoring for Persistent Absentees

Pupils who fall below 90% attendance and are classed as persistently absent will be offered one-on-one mentoring. This support aims to identify any underlying issues and help pupils re-engage with school.

Pupil Support Service

For pupils requiring further assistance, we have a referral service where they can access full-time counsellors, mental health practitioners, and school nurses. This process begins with a meeting to assess your child’s needs and ensure they are connected to the right services.

Support for Parents

We also encourage parents to seek advice and support through the NHS resource for children’s mental health. This website provides valuable information to help you support your child’s well-being: NHS Children’s Mental Health Support.

We hope these services provide reassurance and guidance, ensuring that your child has the best possible support in overcoming any barriers to their attendance. If you have any questions or wish to discuss your child’s needs further, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Thank you for your continued partnership in supporting your child’s education.

11/10/2024

We would like to remind you of the procedure for collecting pupils from school for appointments or if they are unwell. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated to ensure a smooth process and the safety of all pupils.

Appointments: If your child has an appointment during school hours, please inform the school as early as possible, providing the time and reason for their early departure. You may do this by calling the school office or sending an email to attendance@bloxwichacademy.co.uk . When you arrive to collect your child, you must sign them out at the main office.

Unwell Pupils: If your child becomes unwell during the school day and is authorised to go home, they must be collected by an adult. Please ensure that this person is listed as an authorised contact. For your child’s safety, we cannot allow them to leave school unaccompanied.

Thank you for your attention to these procedures and for providing as much notice as possible in both cases. This helps us manage student well-being and ensures an organised collection process

We know it can be tricky deciding whether to keep your child off school when they’re unwell. To help, there are government guidelines available to manage specific infectious diseases. You can check these guidelines on attached GOV.UK link for advice on when children should stay home and when they’re okay to attend. If you do keep your child at home, it’s important to inform the school on the first day. Please call and let us know your child won’t be attending and provide the reason. If your child is well enough to attend but has an infection that could be passed on, such as head lice or a cold sore, please let their teacher know. Thank you for helping us keep everyone healthy!

Is my child to ill for school?

26/09/2024 –

Well done to 7T1 for leading the way in the attendance tables since the start of the academic year. 11W1 are our biggest climbers from last week. Every day counts towards helping your form climb the table.

Bloxwich Academy celebrated World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10th October. We promoted positive mental health strategies throughout assemblies and focused on mindfulness in form time activities. Pupils in PSHE have also been focusing on the importance of positive mental health throughout each of the topics. Staff showed their support for positive mental health, wearing yellow and could be seen around the school. We also have a raffle in place to win a “Yellow Hamper” for 20p a ticket, with funds raised going to Young Minds.

On 10.10.24 Hyett Education ran a fully funded robotics workshop to 71 pupils from years 8 and 9. The aim of the event was to encourage more pupils to consider a career in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). In the workshop, pupils were taught how to design and build robots out of Lego, and programme them to complete specific tasks using a coding platform similar to the scratch software used in school. Tasks included picking up objects and “rescue missions” where pupils would need to design, build and code a robot to save a stranded Lego man and then recover him to safety along a specific path. The day was a success, as many pupils have now said they would like to pursue a career in coding, robotics and STEM!

On Wednesday 9th October, Year 7 pupils were given the exciting opportunity to have a clear message about road and travel safety delivered by Performance in Education.

Their performance of “Streetwise” emersed our pupils into the story of 3 teenagers engaging in unsafe practices when walking or traveling in their community. Pupils were educated on ways to stay safe when using a phone, listening to music, crossing a road and travelling to and from locations.

As well as strategies to stay safe, pupils were also informed of the statistics relating to pedestrian incidents and the timeframes of 8:00am-9:00am and 3:00pm-5:00pm being the highest rates of injuries and deaths due to pupils walking to and from schools.

Pupils were fully engaged in the follow up workshops and were keen to show their understanding of how to stay safe. Bloxwich Academy would like to thank Performance in Education for the fantastic and informative production.

On Monday 7th October, Bloxwich Academy Sixth Form students were invited to take part in the driving safety course for Drive 2 Arrive. During the day, students were educated on the pathway to driving lessons, applying for provisional licenses, booking and taking tests. They were shown how to check for the safety of a car before taking to the road.

Students were then given an opportunity to have a session with a qualified driving instructor to complete a course around the site. To develop their understanding of safety when driving, students were made aware of the laws surrounding mobile phones, speeding and also alcohol and drugs and the consequences they might face or the dangers to others because of this.

The students had a fantastic time and were commended for the attitude and participation during the day. Bloxwich Academy would like to that A*Stars Road Safety and Walsall Council for the opportunity to take part in the event.

To continue to promote and reward outstanding attendance, we are running an attendance incentive! If pupils attend every day in the final week of term (21st-25th October) and ‘don’t ghost us’, they will receive a treat on Thursday 24th October. We also want to celebrate progress and therefore, pupils in Years 8-13 with the most improved attendance this half term (compared to same period last year) AND 100% attendance in the final week will be invited to visit our hot chocolate pop up bar on Thursday 24th October – hot choc, squirty cream and marshmallows.

What an amazing time we had at Alton Towers last Friday! 200 of our pupils were rewarded with a fantastic day out, and they made the most of every moment. It was a brilliant opportunity for them to be recognised for their hard work and dedication, and we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. The day was filled with smiles, laughter, and unforgettable memories. We would love to see even more pupils on our next rewards trip, so please encourage your children to stay focused and aim high. With your support, they can achieve anything! Let’s make sure they don’t miss out on the next adventure!

Pupils in Bloxwich Academy’s Book to Film club had a visit from a few special guests this week. Staff joined the pupils reading “Goodnight Mister Tom”. Pupils and staff share the reading of the book each week. Following the special guests, pupils comments included “I really enjoyed it”, “it was great”, and “I cant wait for next week”. Each week, staff will be joining the Book to Film Club. It runs on a Tuesday and Thursday from 3:10pm-4:00pm

Bloxwich Academy held their annual Macmillan Cake Sale on Thursday 26^th September. Staff kindly supplied the cakes, with Sixth Form pupils offering to support with the sale.   Bloxwich Academy do this to support Macmillan and make a valuable contribution to a charity that works to support millions of families across the country. Pupils came at break time to support the event and we were able to raise £408.12 for a fantastic Charity.

Thank you to all of the staff and pupils at Bloxwich Academy.